Originally written in German, Šimon Voseček’s Biedermann und die Brandstifter was written between 2005 and 2007, and is based on Swiss dramatist and novelist Max Frisch’s 1958 eponymous play. Noted for his depictions of the moral dilemmas of 20th-century life, Frisch’s parable play follows the downfall of the complacent and weak-willed Gottlieb Biedermann who allows two arsonists to destroy his home rather than confront them.

Independent Opera at Sadler's Wells marks its 10th year with the UK premiere of Šimon Voseček's opera based on the eponymous play by Max Frisch. The production is directed by the 2015 Independent Opera Director Fellow Max Hoehn. Timothy Redmond conducts the Britten Sinfonia, and Mark Le Brocq and Leigh Melrose head a superb cast including some of the finest UK-trained singers. Šimon’s opera was premièred on 17 September 2013 at Vienna’s Neue Oper Wien, with the company’s Director Walter Kobéra conducting the amadeus ensemble-wien. Šimon was one of last year’s Soundings participants.

"The multiplicity and the natural precision of Voseček's composition are impressive: His 90-minute opera is capable of becoming a classic, just as the original drama is."

Der Standard, Stefan Ender, on the Neue Oper Wien 2013 production of Biedermann und die Brandstifter.

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